by When considering a new camcorder, one of the very first choices to make is the recording medium that you will use to tape your movies. Picking a taping media initially will significantly reduce the variety of camcorders you require to think about, so choices made afterwards will be rather a bit simpler. Let’s evaluate the types of storage media readily available also the kinds of user/usage each media is finest suited for.
== Tape Camcorders ==.
Although it’s been around for a very long time, tape offers the greatest grade recordings for camcorders. When taping to tape, the image is subjected to the least amount of compression so your recordings preserve the best possible image quality. In addition to offering sharpest images, tape-based camcorders also tend to be cheaper than camcorders that use other storage media.
One disadvantage to tape-based camcorders is that the tapes are limited regarding how much can be recorded to between 60 – 90 minutes. But the recording tapes are fairly inexpensive to purchase, so bring backup tapes is usually not a problem. An additional problem with camcorders that record to tape is that to get your recordings onto a format you can send to Granny (a DVD for instance) requires that you download your motion picture to a computer system initially. The downloading transfer occurs in real time. So if you need to download a 90-minute recording to your computer, it will truly take 90 minutes. With tape-based camcorders, you can not perform any sort of modifying (besides backing over the tape and recording over it once again); all of the editing needs to take place on your computer system.
Tape-based camcorders are perfect for 2 kinds of users: individuals who want high quality recordings, and people on a budget plan.
== Hard-Drive Camcorders ==.
Hard-disk drive (HDD) camcorders tend to give the longest possible recording lengths. With typical quantities of compression, you can normally get as much as 10 hours of tape-recording time on an HDD camcorder. With an HDD camcorder, you never need to purchase extra tapes. Depending on the particular model, you can edit your recordings right on your camcorder. And when it is time to move your films to your computer, the transfer rate is substantially greater than when moving recordings from a tape-based camcorder.
The main disadvantage with HDD camcorders is that the movies are most typically very compressed and this can cause poorer image quality. HDDs themselves are also relatively power hungry and can be more quickly messed up from ecological extremes or drops (as can your camcorder itself). However if you destroy your tape-based camcorder, while the video camera might be dead, you still have the tape. When it comes to an HDD-based camcorder, if it gets destroyed, you are not likely to get your existing recordings off the camcorder.
HDD camcorders are extremely flexible and they are principally indicated for the home user.
== DVD camcorders ==.
Camcorders that store straight to a DVD as their recording medium are an excellent choice for folks who want a recording format that is commonly playable and for those without a computer system. There’s nothing easier than recording a motion picture on your camcorder and putting the result right into the DVD player.
The main unfavorable for DVD camcorders is the length of recording and the image quality. The quantity of taping time readily available will depend on the compression utilized, however at the very best recording quality settings, you can anticipate to get only get 20 – thirty minutes per DVD. If you minimize the quality of the compression you can get longer recording times, however then your recording quality is lowered.
DVD camcorders are an excellent pick for people without computer systems since there is no requirement to upload the video from of the camera; it comes off directly on the DVD. If you have a computer, and it’s a model that you do not believe is suitable to the increased demands of video transfer and modifying, a DVD camcorder may likewise be a great pick for you.
== Flash Camcorders ==.
As advances continue to be made in the flash memory field, flash-based camcorders are becoming more common. Solid-state flash uses up extremely little area and is relatively low-power, so camcorders with flash memory as a storage media tend to be lighter and smaller sized than other camcorder models. They also tend to be more rugged and have the ability to take more abuse such as drops. Like lots of other designs, flash-based camcorders require to have their recordings transferred to a computer system before the video can be put onto a DVD, but the transfer is usually very fast for a lot of designs.
As with other non-tape based camcorders, there might be problems around image quality and compression. Also, depending upon the quantity of the flash memory offered, there may concerns around the amount of the recording time available.
If you are looking for the lightest and smallest camcorder accessible, a flash-based camcorder is probably your best option.
